Abstract
Small and medium enterprises play a significant role in the socio-economic growth of both
developed and developing countries. Since they cannot rely on resource abundancy for
survival and growth, organisational capabilities become a crucial element in their quest for
superior growth. This study sought to investigate the influence of organisational capabilities
on the operational performance of small and medium enterprises. A total of five capabilities
were used as independent variables in this study and these were measured against
operational performance. A total of 388 self-administered questionnaires were obtained from
small and medium enterprises across the ten provinces of Zimbabwe, and the data cleaned
and coded before subjected to several statistical measurements. Exploratory factor analysis,
confirmatory factor analysis and structural equation modelling were done to confirm the
existence of a causal relationship and make inferences among the constructs of interest. The
results of the study show that organisational capabilities are an influential factor in as far as
small and medium enterprises operational performance is concerned. These findings provide
empirical support for both the dynamic capabilities theory and the network theory and if
adopted by managers and owners of small and medium enterprises, the findings can add
value to the firms’ products quality, operational flexibility, delivery time and cost efficiency.
Despite availability of capabilities literature, research on organisational capabilities and
operational performance in the small and medium enterprises context remains scant and
inconclusive such that it is important to reconsider some of the established views of this
study’s findings.
Ph.D. (Business Management)